As I skim through all the drawing boards, I'm come to realize that some people here are just not improving in their art skill. Some just continue to draw the same thing or style over and over and will not explore or better their current style. It's kind of...sad. I must admit though; the people on the beginner board are actually improving, and I applaud them. But those who are on the intermediate especially and even the advanced, I see no kind of improvement. It's silly. Expand! Explore! and BE CREATIVE! fan art is nice and all, but COME UP WITH YOUR OWN THINGS ONCE IN A WHILE! Now, please, noone take my comment to an offense or even if you wish, listen to it. All I'm saying is that if you want to have a more satisfying experience with art and drawing, move on and stop holding back. Don't be afraid to try something new!

Experimenting in my opinion is testing your abilities and try something you've never done before like a different angle, or put some things in there to make some people think about the pic, or try and make up a style. Like look outside and then fall back in a chair and look at it all , upside down, Or look at something like, an ant pile and exaggerate it and it a little. It doesn't depend on how well you can draw. You can do it at whatever stage in art based things. It's like drawing excercises. Pick up a sheet of paper and draw random poses using jesters (or however you type it) and try looking from a different position than straight on, or with the people always on something solid.

Experimenting and improving are two different terms. To me, trying to improve is like taking several tutorials and mush them all together. Or taking a reference pic and trying to improe the bad parts of your art with it.
But people I cannot mention just don't try to improve on the computer yet seek improvement on paper. That's not very logical to me. In fact, she has had the same style from since she first started drawing on paper. I just can't help but pitying that sort of people.

Experimenting is a way of improving, and that's how Doodilpop used it, I just pointed out ways to experiment and they are some ways of improving. And yes taking a reference pic and seeing if you can draw it is ok as long as it isn't done constantly. And like Marcello said

an artist's view of a person. you really can't compare drawing something that's 3d in reality to copying an existing 2d image which has its own contrast, composition, and shading already figured out. drawing a portrait from a photo is more comparable.

Now to "mush" tutorials together isn't very wise. I suppose it would be ok if it was all made by the same person and the style was the same, but you should just develop your own style as you go along.

It's good to make your own style, but it's hard without checking out other artists. I manifested my current style out of a whirl of attributes pulled from artists all over the web. Such as eyes, muzzles, head shape, ears, and anatomy. Eventually, after copying artists all over the internet, I learned to concoct a style that was unique to me. It's good to replicate other artists you like in exercise, as long as you eventually turn it into something of your own.

Sometimes realism is a little bit easier as in to improve, beause realism has no style. Anime in the other hand, you have to look to other artists in order to improve. But overdoing it, like the late dragon_girl did, only leads to unlawfulness. (plagerism)

Yeah. You can't beat a good old-fashioned art class. Figure drawing is a very sobering experience, where you learn that not all models are pretty. :o You beef up your skills with charcoal, and learn how to draw faces, hands, feet, and skeletal structure. Although it can get quite repetitive... by the sixth week, I was ready to tear out of that classroom.

^^; i am taking figure drawing next semester X3 you just made it sound terible!!! how cruel of you...now i am begining to regret i am not taking photo2 and what is this about vending machine food Oo...

At the acadamy of art college, the only source of food was at a vending machine on the first floor. They had frozen pizza, pizza and turkey sandwiches, mexican food and chocolate pudding, along with an assortment of soft drinks. During the class, we had about 7 breaks in the three-hour period, so we would go downstairs, play a bit of pool, chat, and eat the food from the vending machine. It wasn't exactly gourmet. We had fun, tho.

Some just continue to draw the same thing or style over and over and will not explore or better their current style.

I've explored a little bit since I've come to 2draw (which wasn't long ago, really). I've tried different styles of coloring and shading, and just plain ol' style of how I draw. I can't really say my work has improved much, but I'm still learning all the capabilities of the applet.
I'm pretty new to drawing with tablets, period. I go crazy when I've got paper - and I'm a whole lot more patient. I can spend hours and hours with pencil and paper, while I lose interest much faster with a tablet.
Right now, I'm pretty much concentrating on improving my PATIENCE with drawing with a tablet. It's different from drawing on paper, because you're looking at a screen instead of actually watching the act of your hand moving a pencil/brush to create a picture. You still are (kind of) doing that with a tablet and whatever drawing program you use (whether it be an applet or Photoshop - or Paint Shop Pro, in my case...), but it's different - I'm sure you know what I mean.
Yeah. I'm going to bed. I've lost my ability to communicate. O.o

But you must consider one's limits. As such, I've tried realism and whatnot, but I am merely only good at anime. As well as the fact I draw many wingy people. But not only is there a limit to my ability, there is also lesser interest in everything else.

While I may not have done too many explorations\experimentations, however, I have tried.

Not to mention exploration is a need of a conceptualistic skill, which some artists do not have, surprise surprise.

Wow What a good Post! I agree! If you check my board youle see i went through fads...I like multiple schethy line art and as for fan pics.....I thnk i might have 2 or 3,... the rest comes from stuff in my brain!

Omg as i see my first pics they suck. ^^'. I've been improving since.... i started.... MUCH IMPROVED... hehehe.... I used to draw the same thing over and over...now i 'try' not to but the urges.....the urges.... I don't copy other peoples art..... i think up new things.... I'm coming up with more styles and styles... creativity imagination..okay I don't know why i said that...

the problem with me is that i'm poor when it comes to visualization. for example, i bring a mirror around with me in order to draw hands, and i have a little stick figure man made out of pipewire that i pose to make... er... poses. where do you get those wooden art dolls?

somehow, it feels sort of like a crutch to be unable to draw directly from my head when it comes to the most rudimentary of things, and this crutch is what is hampering me from drawing different styles. now as for things like realism and whatnot, there's no excuse. i just suck.

Yea hands are hard for me... Maybe i should drag a mirror around with me. I have a wooden poser it sucks it can't even touch it's toes (and i wonder why I would even want to draw a pose like that) and it doesn't even cross it's arms! It useless! Marienkind, stick to the stickman wire, don't go for the wooden posers.

Nothing beats having a real live model to draw, but that's unfortunately not always practical. These models by Art S. Buck beat the crap out of those dumb wooden posers for when you need to rough out some basic shapes, and have detailed hands and faces that make handy references.